A Night of Blues at Tria Fermentation School

Last night was a dream to remember. I went around the world, eating blues – well, figuratively, at Tria’s Fermentation School. When Tria Wine Director Michael McCauley invited me to teach a class there, I never imagined he’d fall for my trick: a chance to effervesce about blue cheese.

One reason I’m wild about this style of cheese is that so many cultures have developed iconic blues. Italians exude Gorgonzola. The French can think only of Roquefort. In Spain, you find Valdeon and firey Cabrales, while the Brits pick at nubby crumbs of Stilton. Even in Ireland, you find creamy Cashel. And let’s not forget the Danes with their Saga or the U.S. with its Iowa flower, Maytag.

At Tria, the fantastic staff helped me pick perfect pairings for 7 wedges of blue. And off we went, around the world on our blue cheese expedition, from mild and milky to ultra-rich and ferocious, with sides of Allagash-steeped cherries and chocolate-fig jam. Here's the recap.

Seven blues, served w/apple butter, cherries & chocolate-fig jam

Cremificato Verde Capra

Pairing: Vouvray Pétillant Brut, Domaine Huet, ‘05

A gorgeous goat blue from Lombardy, served with brilliant sparkly.

Rogue River Smokey Blue

Boon Kriek Lambic

Like an exotic cigarette and a cherry kiss, all at once. Fantastic.

Gorgonzola Cremifacto

Valpocella Superiore, “Ripasso,” Bussola ‘06

A lazy blue with a rambunctious red – the wine was liquid chocolate.

Colston Bassett Stilton with a Stichelton chaser

J.W. Leese Harvest Ale, 2010

Two glorious beasts from the stilton world -- one pasteurized, the other raw – served with not-too-sweet barleywine.  

Cabrales

Pedro Ximénez “Gran Reserva,” Bodegas Toro Albalâ, ‘82

This wicked, sinus-clearing blue was beautifully tamed by a drop of PX.

Carles Roquefort

Sauternes, Chateua Laribotte, ‘05

Salty sheep’s milk meets gorgeous straw-colored Sauternes. It's like a perfect personal ad.  

Birchrun Blue Fudge from Betty’s Tasty Buttons

Banyuls, “Vielles Vignes,” Domaine du Mas Blanc, ‘91

Local fudge kissed with Sue Millers salty blue, served with a spectacular port-like creature.

The Cheese Map, from the back of the tasting menu

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Many thanks to the great folks at Tria for providing a venue like this in Philadelphia. The Fermentation School is used for staff trainings throughout the week (Tria has 3 wine bars that serve an eclectic, ever-changing selection of cheeses, wine, beer, and meals), and tastings for the public are held several times per month. Their event calendar is a must-bookmark site and is especially useful for keeping track of happy hour and their ever-popular Sunday School program (a special offering of beer, wine, and cheese -- at a very low price, only on Sundays).

Best Bites of the 2011 Fancy Food Show

Imagine a giant cocktail party – an event so big you’d need a map to find your friends. Everywhere you look, people are nibbling things off toothpicks and licking stuff off spoons. You can’t turn around without someone waving a squeeze bottle of hummus at you.

Oh, what fun Hieronymus Bosch would have painting the Fancy Food Show, a carnival of eats that takes place twice a year. The event brings new products to the attention of retailers, but it’s also a chance for the press to put on badges and gorge.

I have so many wheels and wedges to show you and so many celebrity cheese visages to honor that I will split this post in two. First, an overview. For my next post, the complete cheese redux.

Trends & Observations

It’s certainly the Year of the Goat. Everywhere I turned, someone was waving a goat’s milk caramel. I must have sampled a dozen kinds. The best was Happy Goat caramel spiked with Scotch.

Bacon is still hot, and now you can find it in popcorn and chocolate. I think I am hitting my limit, except for a new Skillet Bacon Spread. It was terrific with cheese on a cracker.

Cherries are the new pomegranate.

The rice cake is not dead. Everywhere I looked, machines were spewing out popped grains and pressing Styrofoam-like cakes into forms. Say no to rice cakes drizzled with chocolate and topped with streusel.

 

Purple sweet potato ice cream exists. And fyi: it’s delicious.

 

Cheese and artisanal chocolate will take over the world. I sampled nib after nib and wedge after wedge. Beware: Lots of new chocolate packaging looks like Vosges knock-offs. Vosges debuted a chocolate-chip cookie mix, and the samples were bank.

Bye bye chai, hello boxed hot chocolate. No loss there.

Crackers are undergoing a renaissance. So are cheese straws.

Bamboo. Bamboo. Bamboo.

Adult sodas, with less sugar and labels that call to mind bath salts, are the new Snapple.

Behold boozy jams and savory spreads that pair well with cheese and charcuterie.

On the fringes: buffalo-based snack bars, grow-your-own-mushroom kits, and honey in handpumps.

 

Best Bites

Best Blue Cheese: Flora Nelle, Rogue River

Best New European Cheese: Lord of the Hundreds

Best New American Cheese: Reading Raclette

Best Cracker: Pan Forte Crostini from Rustic Bakery

Best cheese combination: Halloumi with Meyer Lemon Relish, Bella Cucina

Best pickle: Lavender White Asparagus, Brooklyn Brine

Best Spread: Fruit Caviar, The Fine Cheese Co.

Best Chocolate Novelty: Askinosie Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Best Cheese Display: Cypress Grove's “Cheese Cake”